Episode 14

The chill of the early morning air brought Lesker to his senses sooner than he wanted. The closer they got to the mountains, the colder it got. The carts were also moving slower than they were on the main roads.

Bruon spent the night driving while Aiyla guarded by his side. Lesker and Ilan had no other choice than to rest properly because they were climbing the mountains the very next day. As for Yuli, he studied dutifully under Quella.

"Brr, it's so cold. Was it this cold when you carried me from here?"

"Not really but it's going to be winter soon. It's colder here because of the mountains"

"Alright. Let's get this over with"

"You two make sure to return before the sun sets, Alright?" Aiyla says, evidently worried.

"Yes ma'am" They both reply and set out.

Ilan led the way and Lesker followed. It wasn't as dangerous and stressful as they thought it would be. In fact, the mountain was so silent as they climbed it. The only sounds were ones caused by the wind.

Lesker started to feel a pull as they got closer to the top. He couldn't describe it but he felt as if there was something he forgot to do and he had to do it quickly. He sped up his pace, surpassing Ilan. The latter called for him to slow down but as if he was possessed, Lesker marched toward. Ilan kept quiet in the end and followed him.

They reached the top and a Lesker finally stopped. Ahead was a frosted over tip, full of snow and ice.

"Where is it....damn! Where's that thing?"

"Where's what?"

"The thing that's calling me here! Where is it?!"

"I want you to calm down first. You can't find anything being rash like this"

"I can't think straight. I have to find it"

"Lesker, wait. Do you remember, this has happened before. The second day after you woke up, you were thrashing the room, looking for something"

"I was"

"You were asking irrational questions and your behavior was erratic. In the end, you hurt yourself and couldn't find anything. So, please be calm and search with a clear head"

"I will. Thank you"

"Move foward. I sense a great deal of magi ahead"

"Alright. I'll be back soon"

Lesker forged ahead, following the call he heard. Just when he disappeared from Ilan's sight, he stepped into a magic circle. He retracted his leg but the spell had spread been activated.

He looked at the lit up spell which wasn't doing anything. The characters on the circle drawn were nothing he had to ever seen before.

Staring at the lit up circle for a while, he stopped hesitating and walked back into the circle. The light became brighter and continued like that till he got to the eye of the circle.

He placed his feet in the eye of the circle. The circle flashed with a bright light and began to hum. The surrounding snow melted from the heat coming from the circle and Lesker who was in the middle of the circle fell to his knees. This went on for a while before it went silent.

"Hello there"

Lesker looked up to see a blurry figure. He blinked his eyes and saw someone who looked just like him standing in front of him. He looked closer and saw it was a projection, amazing him.

"Hello. Are you...me?"

"Yes. To be more specific, I'm a piece of your soul. I separated from you when this spell was activated so I could help you when you woke up. I was supposed to assist you till you found what it is you were looking for but I used up all my magix when I helped you acclimate to this place. I unfortunately fell into slumber"

"That's why it stopped working. Then, do you know what I'm looking for?"

"I don't know too. It is something that was also sealed up in my memory. What I do know is that when it is found, the spell would be broken and our memories would return. We would also merge back into one"

"I see. It is a very weird spell. Who inflicted it on us?"

"We did this to ourselves"

"Why?" he asked in a deadpanned tone.

"To find something very important. You can't obviously find it here so I suggest you move forward. If you do find it, return here and we'll go back home"

"Our home isn't here? Do you know where it is?"

"I remember it as clear as day. It's a wonder we haven't been dragged back there"

"I suppose you can't tell me about it"

"I couldn't even if I wanted to. Goodluck"

Lesker descended the mountain in a worse mood than the one he had climbing up. Ilan left him alone and silently, the descended the mountain.

It was only when they reached the cart that he said anything.

"Everything just got much more complex. Now, I have more questions than answers"

"Hey, everything's not completely hopeless. We're getting closer to my home town so you'll be able to see a mage supreme sooner"

"Thank you, Ilan. For everything. I mean it"

"You're welcome"

That night, as they retired to sleep with Bruon guarding them, they heard a cry of help in the distance.